A Grass-based Dairy
Shelburne Farms operates a grass-based dairy, relying heavily on pastures to support our herd of Brown Swiss Cows. Cows graze small sections of pasture for 12 to 24 hours and then are "rotated" to a new section. The grazed area is given time to regrow before it is used again, keeping the pastures healthy. This grass-based method of dairying is friendlier to the environment because:

• it eliminates the use of crop-based herbicides and pesticides;
• uses less machinery and fuel to plant, maintain, harvest, and transport grain;
• uses manure as a natural fertilizer on the pastures;
• controls water pollution by maintaining thick pasture growth.

We currently have about 600 acres of productive cropland: 282 acres for rotational grazing, 236 acres for stored winter feed, and 86 acres leased to a neighboring farmer who grows organic grain crops.

A Brown Swiss Herd
Shelburne Farms currently has 200 registered Brown Swiss (107 milking cows and 90 young stock). Brown Swiss were selected by Derick Webb in the 1950s for the breed’s hardiness, foraging ability, quality of milk, longevity and gentle temperament. Most of our cows are bred to calve from March to June. This synchronizes a cow’s peak nutritional needs with peak spring pasture growth. When cows need the best quality diet to produce milk, they feed on rapidly growing, nutrient-rich spring grasses and legumes. A second, smaller group of cows are bred to calve in the early fall. We attempt to breed all of our cows through artificial insemination and have also used bulls. We raise all our female (heifer) calves, are experimenting with raising our bull calves for dairy beef, and have raised and sold purebred bulls for breeding stock.

Milk Production
A Brown Swiss cow on pasture at Shelburne Farms will produce an average of 50 pounds of milk per day. The level of milk production is highest for the 60 to 90 days after the cow gives birth, and then slowly decreases over the next 10 months. At 10 months, the cow is dried off and milking stops for 2 months. She then gives birth to a new calf (about 12 months from the birth of the last one). Most of our milk is used here on the farm to produce our Farmhouse Cheddar cheese.

An Efficient Milking Parlor
Our milking parlor, constructed in 1995, complements the grass system by milking cows quickly and returning them to pasture. The parlor is an efficient, double-16, mid-line swingover design. Sixteen cows line up along one side of the pit where the milker works. While they are milked, 16 more cows file down the other side of the pit and are prepped (their udders are washed). As cows from the first shift finish, their machines are swung to the new cows. Milking continues virtually uninterrupted. Once milked, the cows walk out and a new batch takes their place.

The parlor works by a system of gates controlled from the pit. A motorized gate in the holding pen swings behind the cows to move them into the parlor. As cows file down the sides of the pit, two "guillotine" gates stop the lead cows. The operator manually raises the gate when the cows are ready to exit the parlor and closes it on the lead cow of the next set to be milked. Two people currently milk about 80 cows an hour, taking extra time to prep the cows to ensure the highest quality milk for cheese production.